Category Archives: Canon FD-Mount

Guide to wide-angle lenses for Sony A7/A9/A1 series

Sony A7rII | Zeiss Loxia 21mm 2.8 | f/8.0

We summarize our experience with all the native E-mount and a few manual legacy lenses in the 20-28mm bracket to give you a compact and independent resource for choosing the right wide-angle lens for your Sony A7/A9/A1 camera. In this summary we also included some adapted lenses we think are worth mentioning. We didn’t include any zoom lenses, you can find those in our general guide to FE lenses as well as the guide to 9-18mm ultra wide angle lenses.

You may also want to check out our guides to 35mm lenses, 50mm lenses and 85-135mm portrait lenses.

Some of these lenses are manual focus only (MF) whereas others feature auto focus (AF). There is also a noticeable amount of lenses listed here that do not feature electronic contacts to communicate with the camera (no Exif).

We have no association with any manufacturer apart from occasionally loaning a lens for a review. Before any short introduction we tell you how long we have used a lens and if we have borrowed it from a manufacturer. But in most cases we have bought the lenses on the market. If you want to support our independent reviews please consider using one of the affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything and helps us a lot.

If we have left any question unanswered please leave a comment or contact us on social media and we will do our best to answer it.

Last update: November 2023, Viltrox 20mm 2.8 AF, Viltrox 24mm 1.8 AF and Viltrox 28mm 1.8 AF added

Continue reading Guide to wide-angle lenses for Sony A7/A9/A1 series

Review: Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS

Introduction

canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Canon FD 35mm 2.8 T/S on Sony A7rII

I already reviewed a few of Canon’s TS-E lenses, but this Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS is something special, as it was the first Tilt/Shift lens for the 35mm format (at least as far as I know and according to Canon’s marketing department).
This lens has first been released in 1973, so we are also celebrating its 50th anniversary with this review.

Sample Images

canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Sony A7rII | Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS | f/8.0 | shift up
canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Sony A7rII | Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS | f/2.8 | tilted
canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Sony A7rII | Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS | f2.8
canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Sony A7rII | Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS | f/2.8
canon fd ts tilt shift 35mm 2. fe sony a7rii a7riv review comparison contrast sharpness vignetting pancake small
Sony A7rII | Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS | f/5.6 | shift up

Continue reading Review: Canon FD 35mm 2.8 TS

Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8: A review

Introduction

Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8 review

The Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8 is one of the cheapest manual lenses one can find nowadays. Does this small lens give you the best bang for your buck?

Sample images

Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8 review
Sony a7RIII | Canon 50mm f/1.8 newFD | f/5.6
Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8 review
Sony a7RIII | Canon 50mm f/1.8 newFD | f/8
Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8 review
Sony a7RIII | Canon 50mm f/1.8 newFD | f/8
Sony a7RIII | Canon 50mm f/1.8 newFD | f/5.6

Continue reading Canon newFD 50mm f/1.8: A review

135mm legacy Shoot out: SMC Pentax-M f/3.5 vs Canon nFD f/3.5 vs. Panagor f/2.8

Shoot out: SMC Pentax-M 135mm f/3.5 vs. Canon nFD 135mm f/3.5 vs. Panagor PMC auto tele 135mm f/2.8

In my search for a compact but good budget telelens I came across the SMC Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 and the Canon newFD 135mm f/3.5. Later, I also found a Panagor PMC auto tele 135mm f/2.8 in Canon FD mount. These lenses are cheap, light, and small, but how do they perform?

Disclaimer: I only tested one sample of the Canon and Panagor, and two samples of the Pentax. Since these lenses are old there might be more sample variation than usual, other samples might perform slightly better or worse. Both Pentax samples displayed similar performance. 

Left to right: Panagor, Canon, Pentax

Specifications

Specifications Canon newFD 135mm f/3.5 SMC Pentax-M 135mm f/3.5 Panagor PMC auto tele 135mm f/2.8 (FD)
Diameter 63 mm 63 mm 61 mm
Length 85 mm 66 mm 88 mm
Filter diameter 52 mm 49 mm 55 mm
Weight (ex. Adapter) 325 g 270 g 411 g
Aperture f/3.5-32 f/3.5-32 f/2.8-22
Minimal focus distance 1.3 m 1.5 m 1.5 m
Elements/groups 4/4 5/5 4/4*
Aperture blades 6 8 6

(*Based on the optical design of this lens for other mounts)
Continue reading 135mm legacy Shoot out: SMC Pentax-M f/3.5 vs Canon nFD f/3.5 vs. Panagor f/2.8